Mahanga Community

Project Status

Western Kenya WaSH Program

The Water Project’s WaSH program in Western Kenya aims to access, protect, filter, and purify the abundant waters that are available through two seasonal rains, prevalent springs, high water tables, and deep aquifers in the region. Explore water projects in communities, schools, and churches in Western Kenya such as protected springs, rainwater catchment systems, and water wells. This program emphasizes the power of strategic geographical saturation of projects, effective hygiene and sanitation training, and relational networking between NGOs, health workers, local politicians, and educators.

Protected Spring

In many communities, natural springs exist as water flows from cracks in rocky ground or the side of a hill. Springs provide reliable water but that doesn’t mean safe. When left open they become contaminated by surface contamination, animal and human waste and rain runoff. The solution is to protect the source. First, you excavate around the exact source area of the spring. Then, you build a protective reservoir for water flow, which leads to a concrete spring box and collection area. Safe water typically flows year-round and there is very limited ongoing maintenance needed!

Rehabilitation Project

Rehabilitation is not just fixing a pump - it’s total community re-engagement.

There’s only one thing we can think of that might be worse than not having safe water: having safe water, and then losing it because a project fell into disrepair.

Rehabilitation often proves to be a big challenge, as many wells have sit idle for years and there is typically little information about the specifics of the well. A borehole and dug well rehabilitation involves quite a bit of discovery. First, our teams work to discover as much as they can about the initial project. What materials were used? Was the borehole/hand-dug well properly constructed? Many of these questions can only be answered by diving in, and doing “the work” which makes up a rehabilitation.

Once our teams have found the problem, they find the solution. Then, they reconstruct the well and install a hand pump.

Engagement and training with communities takes into account rehabilitation was needed and alters the program to suit the needs of the community. After all - engaging with this community in the same way which led to the initial, failed project will not bring new results. Our teams work to understand the social and support reasons leading to initial failure, and make those areas a focus of our ongoing engagement with communities.

Local Leadership

Local leadership is a lasting investment

Sustainable water projects only occur through the presence of local leaders. The Water Project identifies, develops, supports, and partners with local organizations who share our vision of reliable and verifiable clean water. Together, we build water programs that include responsible community development, lasting local solutions and ongoing monitoring and resolution.

Community Engagement

Community engagement is at every step of a water project.

Our engagement is rooted in relationship and includes involving the community in implementation and ongoing support, setting expectations for water point management and ongoing costs, etc. All of this happens before a water project is installed.

We use a term called ABCD: “Asset Based Community Development”. This means the community gets a leading seat at the table. Before we seek to bring anything into the community, we first seek to understand and utilize the assets that already exist within the community.

Sanitation Platform (SanPlat)

A SanPlat is most literally the slab one would squat over when utilizing the bathroom.

The community chooses 5 households to receive SanPlats made on site under our training and guidance. The goal: seeing the need for safe latrines throughout their community, each household will be inspired to build their own.

Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Community education and self-discovery about hygiene and sanitation concepts lead to improved health.

Improved health is always the goal. This is why all our projects include hygiene and sanitation training. We utilize many different methods for this training, depending on the community/institution, program and country. Training topics include disease transmission, personal hygiene and cleanliness, proper disposal of waste and proper water storage methods.

Monitoring and Resolution

Water isn’t a pump. Water is a service. And, it must be reliable.

The known benefits of water are ONLY true if water can be counted on, over time. We love celebrating when a project is complete and a community has access to clean, safe water. However, the ongoing service of water - making water reliable - is how we know our true impact.

The Water Project continues to monitor our water projects, and we provide continued support to make sure water service continues for communities.

Past water projects and the communities they serve are just as important to us as anything else we might be doing in the future.

Project Timeline FAQ

Project Status

We’re working hard to make sure your gifts result in a lasting water project for the community it serves. Our engagement with a community begins many months before construction and lasts years after construction. The timeline here is focused on the physical construction of the water project. There is also training and engagement work that has already started.

Water project construction in the developing world is hard work. A lot of things can and do cause delays - which are normal. We attempt to make our best judgment of when construction will be complete, but the circumstances surrounding actual "in the field" conditions are far from our control.

Weather, supply availability, government paperwork, and progress of community involvement are just a few of the variables that can delay (and sometimes speed up) a project's completion.

We will always tell you if anything changes. And, if you get a notice like this – it’s actually further proof your gifts are being carefully used towards a water project that lasts.

Click icons to learn about each feature.

Community Profile

This project is a part of our shared program with Western Water and Sanitation Forum (WEWASAFO). Our team is pleased to directly share the below report (edited for clarity, as needed).

Welcome to the Community

We found out about this community in need when traveling the one throughway in the area; Mahanga Shopping Center was the only stop along the road for a long while, and it came up when we were hungry. As we stopped and sat to drink milk, a local overheard our discussions about spring protections and approached us with a request to visit their own Mahanga Village. When we showed up to assess the spring and surrounding households, we were met by an overjoyed landowner, Mr. Vidija!

A normal day in Mahanga Community entails many struggles to make ends meet. For Mr. Evernce Vidija, his day is spent between his fish pond and farm. He attends to his little fishes to ensure that they are fed and safe from bird predators or human theft.

Most of the people in Mahanga Village run small businesses to sell trade goods or farm produce at Mahanga Shopping Center. The cost of living is very high in this area because this trading center is so far away from all the others in the county.

Water Situation

Around 300 people from 40 different households rely on contaminated water from Omollo Spring. Water pools under the shade of local plants, and a hollow banana tree trunk has been fixed at the spring eye. Water trickles out of this makeshift pipe, and women and children hold their plastic containers underneath until they are full. Only small containers fit under the banana tree pipe, so these must be continuously used to fill larger jerrycans.

Some community members fill their containers not to bring back home, but to take to Mahanga Shopping Center for sale. Most likely, the water purchased at the market is used for drinking. Water delivered home is separated between different plastic storage containers in the latrine, living room, and kitchen.

After drinking this water, reports of typhoid and diarrhea are common.

Sanitation Situation

Over half of households have their own pit latrine. Most of the floors are made of tree logs, and the walls are made of either dried banana leaves or mud. The wooden floors are very difficult to clean and thus are dirty, smelly and rotting. These floors begin to endanger the user who could fall through into the pit underneath.

Those families who don’t have their own pit latrine will share with their neighbor, or seek the privacy of bushes.

Less than half of households have helpful tools like dish racks and clotheslines. Garbage is disposed of either by the kitchen garden or behind their buildings. There are no hand-washing stations.

“We are badly off and totally forgotten by the government when it comes to the development of health amenities in the village. We have drunk unsafe water for so long that some people have developed resistance to severe cases of hygiene. This has put the kids into a bigger risk of contracting waterborne and any other hygiene-related health problems because their immune systems are still new to the strains of pathogens,” Mr. Vidija told us.

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Community members will attend hygiene and sanitation training for at least two days. This training will ensure participants are no longer ignorant about healthy practices and their importance. The facilitator plans to use PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation), CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation), ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development), group discussions, handouts, and demonstrations at the spring. One of the most important topics we plan to cover is open defecation and its dangers, as well as having and using a pit latrine.

Training will also result in the formation of a committee that will oversee operations and maintenance at the spring. They will enforce proper behavior around the spring and delegate tasks that will help preserve the site, such as building a fence and digging proper drainage.

Plans: Sanitation Platforms

On the final day of training, participants will select five families that should benefit from new latrines.

Training will also inform the community and selected families on what they need to contribute to make this project a success. They must mobilize locally available materials, such as bricks, clean sand, hardcore, and ballast. The five families must prepare by sinking a pit for the sanitation platforms to be placed over. All community members must work together to make sure that accommodations and food are always provided for the work teams.

Plans: Spring Protection

Fetching water is predominantly a female role, done by both women and young girls. Protecting the spring and offering training and support will therefore help empower the female members of the community by giving them more time and efforts to engage and invest in income-generating activities.

In addition, protecting the spring will ensure that the water is safe, adequate and secure. Construction will keep surface runoff and other contaminants out of the water.

Project Updates

10/02/2018: A Year Later: Mahanga Community

A year ago, generous donors helped protect Omollo Spring for Mahanga Community in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories. Read more…

07/25/2017: Mahanga Community Project Complete

Omollo Spring in Mahanga Community, Kenya is now a protected, clean source of water thanks to your donation. The spring is protected from contamination, five sanitation platforms have been provided for the community, and training has been given in sanitation and hygiene. Imagine the changes that all of these resources are going to bring for these residents! You made it happen! Now, want to do a bit more? Join our team of monthly donors and help us maintain this spring protection and many other projects.

We just updated the project page with the latest pictures, so make sure to check them out! And please enjoy the rest of the report from our partner in Kenya:

Project Result: New Knowledge

Hygiene and sanitation training was held at Mr. Omollo’s compound, who is the father of Mr. Evernce Vidija, a well-known leader in Mahanga. Mr. Vidija prepared his community for the upcoming training, recruiting at least one representative from each household. Children, men and women were all invited to learn about health and hygiene as well as management and maintenance of the spring.

A total of 25 people showed up to learn; many of whom were children often sent to fetch water. The children were most excited about doing demonstrations, telling us that they learned a lot of these things at school already.

Training topics included but were not limited to leadership and governance; operation and maintenance of the spring; healthcare; family planning; immunizations; the spread of disease and prevention. We also covered water treatment methods, environmental hygiene, and hygiene promotion. We also took a session to emphasize proper maintenance of the spring protection project. The community should refrain from washing clothes, watering animals, farming with fertilizers, and open defecation in the vicinity.

Trainer Jacqueline Shigali kept everyone interested and involved in the important information she shared.

We held training after the spring was finished so we could hold onsite demonstrations on how to keep the area clean. Our trainer also brought illustrations that facilitated discussion on healthy and unhealthy behaviors. Group discussions were also very effective in helping participants take responsibility for what they were learning.

“The session has been very educative and timely because we have been charged and challenged to take seriously the aspect of spring management… Children have gotten the firsthand information on how they need to handle themselves at the spring site. I therefore don’t expect to eat any excuses from any parent or child who will act contrary to… hygiene and sanitation standards. We are indeed grateful to have you with us,” said Mrs. Sharon Kandenyi.

Demonstrating how to keep the spring clean.

Project Result: Sanitation Platforms

All five sanitation platforms have been installed and are ready for use. These five families are happy about this milestone and are optimistic that there will be much less open defecation. People without proper latrines would often use the privacy of bushes, but now have a private place of their own. It is expected that proper use of latrine facilities provided by the sanitation platforms will go a long way in reducing environmental pollution here. We will continue to encourage these five families to build walls and roofs to protect their new platforms.

Mrs. Angeyo has prepared a place for her new latrine by digging a pit and collecting materials for the walls and roof.

Project Result: Spring Protection

Community members provided all locally available construction materials, e.g bricks, wheelbarrows of clean sand, wheelbarrows of ballast, fencing poles and hard core (crushed rock and gravel). Accommodation and food for the artisan were provided and a few people volunteered their services as laborers.

The children really stepped up to see this project’s success. And they did it joyfully!

The spring area was excavated to create space for setting the foundation of polythene, wire mesh and concrete. After the base had been set, both wing walls and the head wall were set in place using brickwork. The discharge pipe was fixed low in place through the head wall to direct the water from the reservoir to the drawing area.

The artisan is excavating the area up to the spring to make level ground for the foundation.

As the wing walls and head wall were curing, the stairs were set and the tiles were fixed directly below the discharge pipe. This reduces the erosive force of the falling water and beautifies the spring. The process of plastering the head wall and wing walls on both sides reinforces the brickwork and prevents water from the reservoir from seeping through the walls and allows pressure to build in the collection box to push water up through the discharge pipe. Lastly, the base of the spring was plastered and the collection box was cleaned. The source area was filled up with clean hardcore and covered with a polythene membrane to eliminate any potential sources of contamination. Finally, grass was planted and cutoff drains dug to direct surface water away from the spring box.

A drain channel was even directed into a nearby fish pond to continuously supply it with fresh water.

During the project a majority of the beneficiaries who tirelessly lent their helping hands were children. They were involved right from the beginning until the end. Mrs. Josphine Mugeha, who is also an Early Child Development teacher says, “Most families around this place are headed by single mothers who are unemployed. Each day they wake up with fresh worries on how to fend for their children. Much of the household chores have been offloaded to be done by children because that is the only way to train them how to survive.” Her statement agrees with what Mr. Evernce Vidija said: “My parents died when I was 10. Thus, I had to learn about responsibility early in life. The greatest undoing for most of these families, that have left behind many widows and orphans, is HIV/AIDS. Many children have nowhere to turn to except to put up with their old grandparents who could not be asked to provide labor during the construction work.”

Mrs. Mugeha helped during training by doing what she does best – Teaching!

The children enjoyed the work and loved to be involved in such tasks. They helped our artisan load and transport the sand to the construction site. During the construction process, they were at the forefront ferrying sand, ballast and bricks.

“My daughter confided in me how happy she was the day I allowed her to join her fellow children to carry some bricks to the construction site. ‘Daddy, today I took three pieces of bricks and the artisan used them to construct the stair! I feel so good about it because people will walk on them on their way to fetch clean water from our spring. I wish they could guess which bricks they will be stepping on,’ she exclaimed. That aspect has kept Edith Nyadoya, my daughter, very mindful about the spring,” Mr. Joseph Agofya said.

These hardworking children are already enjoying clean water.

Most times it is the children who are sent to fetch water from the spring. Their opinions were even respected during training. “As children, we say thank you to WEWASAFO and the donor. We are also grateful that our parents allowed you to construct for us the spring. We will be drawing water from a clean and decent place! I will also tell my friend at school how good our spring looks. Our village will be respected a lot,” Edith Nyadoya said.

Everyone joined together to celebrate the spring’s completion. “I am very delighted to see this reality manifested… The community will save much time when they come to collect water because it has now been harnessed to discharge water from a clean place and in an organized manner. The artisan did a commendable job and we really love his artistic skills – more so to design the spring so it has to discharge water into the fish pond without allowing any back flow. The spring has boosted our self-esteem as a community and set up in us the new level of Abraham Maslow’s Law of human needs,” Mr. Vidija shared on the behalf of all.

04/27/2017: Mahanga Community Project Underway

Mahanga Community will soon have a source of clean water thanks to your donation. Community members have been drinking contaminated water from Omollo Spring, and often suffer physical illnesses after doing so. Our partner conducted a survey of the area and deemed it necessary to protect the spring, build new sanitation platforms (safe, easy-to-clean concrete floors for latrines), and conduct sanitation and hygiene training. Thanks to your generosity, waterborne disease will no longer be a challenge for the families drinking the spring’s water. We look forward to sharing more details with you as they come! But for now, please take some time to check out the report containing community information, pictures, and maps.

The Water Project and Mahanga Community Thank You for giving the hope of clean water and good health.

Project Photos

Project Type

In many communities, natural springs exist as water flows from cracks in rocky ground or the side of a hill. Springs provide reliable water but that doesn’t mean safe. When left open they become contaminated by surface contamination, animal and human waste and rain runoff. The solution is to protect the source. First, you excavate around the exact source area of the spring. Then, you build a protective reservoir for water flow, which leads to a concrete spring box and collection area. Safe water typically flows year-round and there is very limited ongoing maintenance needed!

Contributors

A Year Later: Mahanga Community

September, 2018

A new generation of children in Mahanga Community will grow up never knowing dirty water and the diseases it carries, thanks to this spring.

A year ago, generous donors helped protect Omollo Spring for Mahanga Community in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – and we’re excited to share this one from Erick Wagaka with you.

“Due to the availability of a safe water point that meets the need of the community members, there have not been any new cases of waterborne diseases,” Pauline Esendi said.

“This means that the community is now able to raise a generation of children who are less affected by childhood diseases and thus a healthy, productive and prominent nation is being manufactured.”

Pauline Esendi

She added that the time families used to spend fetching water is now saved, thanks to the water point and the fact that it both provides ample water. Others say that they are now using their saved time to work on their farms and keep their businesses open for longer hours. The spring is also so easy to access that children can fetch the water safely, freeing even more time for their parents.

Protection of this spring is only one step along the journey toward sustainable access to clean water. The Water Project is committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by donors like you, allows us to maintain our relationships with communities by visiting up to 4 times each year to ensure that the water points are safe and reliable.

This is just one of the many ways that we monitor projects and communicate with you. Additionally, you can always check the functionality status and our project map to see how all of our water points are performing, based on our consistent monitoring data.

One project is just a drop in the bucket towards ending the global water crisis, but the ripple effects of this project are truly astounding. This spring in Mahanga Community is changing many lives.

“We benefited from the household sanitation platforms courtesy of the spring protection agenda. The training also helped me to appreciate the value of handwashing at critical times.”

This is only possible because of the web of support and trust built between The Water Project, our local teams, the community, and you. We are excited to stay in touch with this community and support their journey with safe water.